Organizing Important Papers - Organizing Paperwork To Be Prepared For Anything

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Organizing important papers is critical. Period.

What if someone stole your wallet? Or what if you lost your purse? Then what?

This recently happened to one of my family members and it's not a
fun process to go through. Below are compiled tips on getting organized and how to be
prepared and what action steps to take should something unfortunate happen.

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Organizing Important PapersPaper Organization To Be Prepared

Below are good precautions to take. You can never be too prepared for your wallet to be stolen or your purse to be lost forever, so organizing important papers and documents is a must.

1. Make copies of the front and back of every card in your wallet/purse.
Keep a copy at home in an "Important Papers" file in your home office file cabinet and in a safety
deposit box.

2. Make a list of all the important numbers (i.e. credit card
companies, credit reporting organizations, memberships) and keep it in
the "Important Papers" file.

3. The next time you order checks, only have your initials
printed on them. If someone takes your checkbook they won't know how you
sign your checks, but the bank will.

4. DO NOT sign the back of your credit cards. Put "Photo ID Required" or "See ID".

5. When you are writing checks to pay your credit card accounts,
do not put the complete account number. Put the last four digits
instead.

6. NEVER have your social security number printed on your checks.
Also, have your post office box or work address put on your checks if
possible.

7. Put a fraud alert on your credit file, so that credit bureaus
will and must contact you before any new credit can be approved. Keep in
mind, this also means you can’t get instant credit. This is good for
those who don’t plan to get credit in the near future.

10. Print out this page and keep it in a place that you will remember and easily find, preferably your "Important Papers" file or in something like the below product that takes all of the guesswork out of the process for you.

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Organizing Important PapersTake Action

If the unthinkable happens, act quickly. This is much easier if you've been organizing important papers and have done the steps above. The following will help you
minimize the potential damage. Please take note of the items that should
be done IMMEDIATELY.

1. Call one of the three national credit reporting organizations
IMMEDIATELY. Place a fraud alert on your name and social security
number.

3. Call your bank IMMEDIATELY to freeze your accounts and cancel
your checks. Then go to the bank to open new accounts, transfer old
balances, get new checks, update automatic withdrawals and deposits, and
inform them of any pending checks that you have already written.
Remember to get new checks from Quicken or any financial software you
use as well.

4. File a police report IMMEDIATELY in the jurisdiction of where your purse/wallet was lost/stolen.

5. Call credit card companies IMMEDIATELY to cancel your accounts
and order new cards. Don't forget to update payments you make
automatically with your credit cards.

6. Go to the DMV. Bring proof of identification (i.e. passport)
and a copy of your social security card. If you have a copy of your old
driver's license, bring that as well. Check your local DMV website for
additional details (i.e. cost of getting a new license).

Organizing Important PapersShould You Get Identity Insurance?

There's actually not a yes or no answer to this question as it depends
on the individual. I did some research and listed below are, what I
thought, were the important facts. Enjoy!

Pros

can detect fraud early by monitoring thousands of databases

covers the expenses associated with dealing with the problem such as phone bills and lost wages

could assist in the recovery process which could be very lengthy

can be a low cost for some peace of mind

Cons

is considered over protection by many

you still have to do the recovery process yourself

won’t stop someone from stealing your identity (you can’t prevent
identity theft from happening, you can only reduce the likeliness)

organizing important papers and doing things like shredding sensitive documents,
regularly checking your credit, and reviewing your financial statements,
is more likely to prevent identity theft than insurance (and you should
do all this even with identity insurance!)

Other

If you’re going to get identity insurance, do some
comparison-shopping. The coverage can vary drastically from company to
company. Check out IdentityTheftLabs.com.

Identity theft insurance doesn’t cover direct monetary losses. That
being said, you shouldn’t be held responsible for the debts run up in
your name either.

Check to see what your credit card company offers. Are you an American
Express cardholder? One of their benefits is a free identity theft
service that helps you navigate the recovery process among other things.